The present invention relates to telecommunications equipment generally, and more specifically to enclosures suitable for communications cables, such as optical fiber cables.
Optical fiber communication networks have gained wide acceptance in place of the use of electrical cable systems, due to the significantly enhanced bandwidth capabilities of optical fiber and its immunity to electromagnetic and radiomagnetic interference. Very significant advantages are achievable by the use of optical fiber rather than electrical conduction media. Nevertheless, a continuing problem with the deployment of optical fiber systems is providing a method to terminate optical fiber cables so as to make electrical or optical connections to fibers within the cables while providing adequate environmental protection and allowing for easy installation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,516 to Kohy et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,575 to Hayward et al. are expressly incorporated by reference herein in their entireties for their teachings on sealed fiber enclosures.
Fiber enclosures are required to be water tight, as they are subjected to a variety of environmental conditions. Such enclosures are frequently deployed underground, and it is important to ensure that water does not come in contact with the optical fiber cables or electronic equipment. High pressure seals are preferred for the enclosures, because a seal that cannot be penetrated by air is not penetrated by water either.
Because there is a need to access the equipment inside the enclosures to reconfigure the equipment following deployment, the enclosures cannot be permanently sealed. Rather, a seal is required that is easily released in order to perform work inside the enclosure, and easy to reseal when the work is completed. It is common to use an o-ring seal in fiber optic enclosures. If particles of dirt or grease get on the o-ring, the o-ring may not seal properly. It is particularly difficult to detect these impurities visually.
Thus, a high-pressure seal is desired that is reliable and water-tight.
The present invention is a sealed telecommunications enclosure assembly. A telecommunications enclosure has an inner rim. The inner rim has an upwardly facing tilted surface. At least one o-ring is provided. An end cap is shaped to fit the enclosure. The end cap has a groove. The groove has at least two sides for holding the o-ring in a position to contact the tilted surface of the rim, so that the o-ring is compressed between at least three surfaces when the end cap is in place on the enclosure, thereby to form a seal between the rim and the end cap.